Edinburgh People’s Theatre doesn’t give a hill of beans for modern turns on panto tradition, just the usual bag of magic ones, as the company prepares the Church Hill Theatre for Jack and the Beanstalk, its 66th consecutive pantomime.

With enough spectacle and showmanship to keep kids big and small spellbound, Scottish Ballet’s revival of Peter Darrel’s Nutcracker at the Festival Theatre and on tour is the perfect Christmas present.

This year’s King’s pantomime – Cinderella – is a more plot-driven and less reliant on effects than many of recent years. It also lacks some of the more interactive elements of panto, but for sheer fun and laughter it scores very highly indeed.

The Festival Theatre Studio is being taken over by Birds of Paradise theatre this December with a brand new adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s first ever story for children – The Steadfast Tin Soldier.